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Sunday, January 1, 2012

Happy New Year!

Here! Here!
I'm starting a new blog about my adventures into veganism, which was my big New Year's resolution!
Just yesterday, I had my last taste of dairy.
Not just for health reasons, I don't eat any meat because I care a lot about the well beings of animals and how they're being treated. They are practically raised for murder in tight, filthy slaughterhouses and fed unnatural indigestable garbage just so humans can indulge on their flesh. The whole situation just irks me!
Plus growing up, I've never had a stomach for consuming meat and found myself constantly puking or growing retched at the thought of eating more. So yes, I suffered from meat depression and it sucked. Meat was one of the cheapest things my mom could afford.
Having been a lacto-ovo vegetarian since 14, I'm now ready to explore everything there is to know about a diet solely of fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, legumes, and soy!
Veganism to me is the graduation stage of vegetarianism.
Few ever make it to this supposedly very difficult stage.
Reading preparation- books, blogs, and magazine articles have really aided in this dawning realization for me. Though I've tried veganism often in the past, cheese and ice cream have always been adamantly hard to give up cold turkey. In a day or two, I was always reverted back to grilled cheese, Ben & Jerry's Milk And Cookies ice cream or a soy vanilla chai tea at Starbucks like a crazy drug addict.
Thanks to great, far healthier alternatives, I can give all that up now.
I'm truly gung ho about being at home and creating new meals like they're works of art!
Plus I won't have to sacrifice eating out either. I can still have my avocado rolls and Tofu Pad Thai (no egg of course) at various Thai restaurants, veggie sandwiches at Tank's, Lucky's, and Fifth Street Deli, falafel pitas at Cedarland or Gyro, Chipotle bowls/burritoes without dairy ingredients and countless other eateries.
Today's menu included a peanut butter sandwich and almond milk for lunch, rotini pasta with mozzarella Daiya and mushrooms for dinner, and Annie's organic chocolate chip granola bars (ummm not the yummiest) for a snack.
But tomorrow's mission includes online coupon searching, recipe downloads, and local (not specialty) neighborhood grocery store shopping!
I'm determined to make this lifestyle easy and affordable.
Hopefully, inspire others into doing the same.
Also at afroveganchick, I'm talking more than food- beauty, hair, and clothing veganism go hand in hand too!
Happy vegan tidings! :)